1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a radio pager, and more specifically to a method of determining or estimating, within a pager, the number of times paging services have been implemented by a calling station. Still more specifically, the present invention relates to a pager which can determine or estimate the number of paging service times (viz., the number of message transmissions).
2. Description of the Related Art
A paging service company typically charges each subscriber a fixed fee for their services irrespective of the number of paging services during a predetermined time period (e.g., one month). However, some paging service companies intend to charge the subscriber depending on the number of messages which are transmitted (viz., the number of pagings). In such a case, it is desirable if the subscriber is able to determine or estimate the service fee without inquiring the fee from the company. According to Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 1-264056, a predetermined number is counted down each time the subscriber's pager receives a message. When the countdown reaches zero, the pager alerts the subscriber.
However, it is often the case that the pager is located in such an area as the paging signal does not reach the pager due to weak signal strength. Accordingly, with this conventional technique, it is very difficult for the subscriber to exactly determine the number of pagings, based on which the company will charge the subscriber,
It Is therefore highly desirable if the subscriber is able to determine the service fee at the pager.